The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

Made: 11th December 2013

Laid before Parliament: 13th December 2013

Coming into force: 13th June 2014

The Secretary of State, as a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to matters relating to consumer protection , makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of that Act.

PART 1 — General

Citation and commencement

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and come into force on 13th June 2014.

• (2) These Regulations apply in relation to contracts entered into on or after that date.

Regulations superseded

2

The following do not apply in relation to contracts entered into on or after 13th June 2014—

• (a) the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 ;

• (b) the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008 .

Review

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• (1) The Secretary of State must before the end of each review period—

• (a) carry out a review of these Regulations,

• (b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report, and

• (c) publish the report.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) The report must in particular—

• (a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by these Regulations,

• (b) assess the extent to which those objectives have been achieved, and

• (c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved in a way that imposes less regulation.

• (4) A review period is—

• (a) the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force, and

• (b) each successive period of 5 years.

“Consumer” and “trader”

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In these Regulations—

• “consumer” means an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession;

• “trader” means a person acting for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader's name or on the trader's behalf.

Other definitions

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In these Regulations—

• “business” includes the activities of any government department or local or public authority;

• “business premises” in relation to a trader means—any immovable retail premises where the activity of the trader is carried out on a permanent basis, orany movable retail premises where the activity of the trader is carried out on a usual basis;

• “CMA” means the Competition and Markets Authority ;

• “commercial guarantee”, in relation to a contract, means any undertaking by the trader or producer to the consumer (in addition to the trader's duty to supply goods that are in conformity with the contract) to reimburse the price paid or to replace, repair or service goods in any way if they do not meet the specifications or any other requirements not related to conformity set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising available at the time of the contract or before it is entered into;

• “court”—in relation to England and Wales, means the county court or the High Court,in relation to Northern Ireland, means a county court or the High Court, andin relation to Scotland means the sheriff court or the Court of Session;

• “delivery” means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another;

• “digital content” means data which are produced and supplied in digital form;

• “distance contract” means a contract concluded between a trader and a consumer under an organised distance sales or service-provision scheme without the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, with the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the time at which the contract is concluded;

• “district heating” means the supply of heat (in the form of steam or hot water or otherwise) from a central source of production through a transmission and distribution system to heat more than one building;

• “durable medium” means paper or email, or any other medium that—allows information to be addressed personally to the recipient,enables the recipient to store the information in a way accessible for future reference for a period that is long enough for the purposes of the information, andallows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored;

• “functionality” in relation to digital content includes region coding, restrictions incorporated for the purposes of digital rights management, and other technical restrictions;

• “goods” means any tangible moveable items, but that includes water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for sale in a limited volume or a set quantity;

• “off-premises contract” means a contract between a trader and a consumer which is any of these—a contract concluded in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, in a place which is not the business premises of the trader;a contract for which an offer was made by the consumer in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, in a place which is not the business premises of the trader;a contract concluded on the business premises of the trader or through any means of distance communication immediately after the consumer was personally and individually addressed in a place which is not the business premises of the trader in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer;a contract concluded during an excursion organised by the trader with the aim or effect of promoting and selling goods or services to the consumer;

• “on-premises contract” means a contract between a trader and a consumer which is neither a distance contract nor an off-premises contract;

• “public auction” means a method of sale where—goods or services are offered by a trader to consumers through a transparent, competitive bidding procedure run by an auctioneer,the consumers attend or are given the possibility to attend in person, andthe successful bidder is bound to purchase the goods or services;

• “sales contract” means a contract under which a trader transfers or agrees to transfer the ownership of goods to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price, including any contract that has both goods and services as its object;

• “service” includes—the supply of water, gas or electricity if they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or a set quantity, andthe supply of district heating;

• “service contract” means a contract, other than a sales contract, under which a trader supplies or agrees to supply a service to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price.

Limits of application: general

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• (1) These Regulations do not apply to a contract, to the extent that it is—

• (a) for—

• (i) gambling within the meaning of the Gambling Act 2005 (which includes gaming, betting and participating in a lottery);...

• (ii) in relation to Northern Ireland, for betting, gaming or participating lawfully in a lottery within the meaning of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 ; or

• (iii) participating in a lottery which forms part of the National Lottery within the meaning of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.

• (b) for services of a banking, credit, insurance, personal pension, investment or payment nature;

• (c) for the creation of immovable property or of rights in immovable property;

• (d) for rental of accommodation for residential purposes;

• (e) for the construction of new buildings, or the construction of substantially new buildings by the conversion of existing buildings;

• (f) for the supply of foodstuffs, beverages or other goods intended for current consumption in the household and which are supplied by a trader on frequent and regular rounds to the consumer's home, residence or workplace;

• (g) which is a package travel contract within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018;

• (h) which is a regulated contract within the meaning of the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010.

• (2) These Regulations do not apply to contracts—

• (a) concluded by means of automatic vending machines or automated commercial premises;

• (b) concluded with a telecommunications operator through a public telephone for the use of the telephone;

• (c) concluded for the use of one single connection, by telephone, internet or fax, established by a consumer;

• (d) under which goods are sold by way of execution or otherwise by authority of law.

• (3) Paragraph (1)(b) is subject to regulations 38(4) (ancillary contracts) and 40(3) (additional payments).

PART 2 — Information requirements

CHAPTER 1 — Provision of information

Application of Part 2

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• (1) This Part applies to on-premises, off-premises and distance contracts, subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) and regulation 6.

• (2) This Part does not apply to contracts to the extent that they are—

• (a) for the supply of a medicinal product by administration by a prescriber, or under a prescription or directions given by a prescriber;

• (b) for the supply of a product by a health care professional or a person included in a relevant list, under arrangements for the supply of services as part of the health service, where the product is one that, at least in some circumstances is available under such arrangements free or on prescription.

• (3) This Part, except for regulation 14(1) to (5), does not apply to contracts to the extent that they are for passenger transport services.

• (4) This Part does not apply to off-premises contracts under which the payment to be made by the consumer is not more than £42.

• (5) In paragraph (2)—

• “health care professional” and “prescriber” have the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 ;

• “health service” means—the health service as defined by section 275(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006 or section 206(1) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 ,the health service as defined by section 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 , orany of the health services under section 2(1)(a) of the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 ;

• “medicinal product” has the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 ;

• “relevant list” means—a relevant list for the purposes of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 , ora list maintained under those Regulations.

Making information etc available to a consumer

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For the purposes of this Part, something is made available to a consumer only if the consumer can reasonably be expected to know how to access it.

Information to be provided before making an on-premises contract

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• (1) Before the consumer is bound by an on-premises contract, the trader must give or make available to the consumer the information described in Schedule 1 in a clear and comprehensible manner, if that information is not already apparent from the context.

• (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a contract which involves a day-to-day transaction and is performed immediately at the time when the contract is entered into.

• (3) If the contract is for the supply of digital content other than for a price paid by the consumer—

• (a) any information that the trader gives the consumer as required by this regulation is to be treated as included as a term of the contract, and

• (b) a change to any of that information, made before entering into the contract or later, is not effective unless expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Information to be provided before making an off-premises contract

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• (1) Before the consumer is bound by an off-premises contract, the trader—

• (a) must give the consumer the information listed in Schedule 2 in a clear and comprehensible manner, and

• (b) if a right to cancel exists, must give the consumer a cancellation form as set out in part B of Schedule 3.

• (2) The information and any cancellation form must be given on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium and must be legible.

• (3) The information referred to in paragraphs (l), (m) and (n) of Schedule 2 may be provided by means of the model instructions on cancellation set out in part A of Schedule 3; and a trader who has supplied those instructions to the consumer, correctly filled in, is to be treated as having complied with paragraph (1) in respect of those paragraphs.

• (4) If the trader has not complied with paragraph (1) in respect of paragraph (g), (h) or (m) of Schedule 2, the consumer is not to bear the charges or costs referred to in those paragraphs.

• (5) If the contract is for the supply of digital content other than for a price paid by the consumer—

• (a) any information that the trader gives the consumer as required by this regulation is to be treated as included as a term of the contract, and

• (b) a change to any of that information, made before entering into the contract or later, is not effective unless expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (7) This regulation is subject to regulation 11.

Provision of information in connection with repair or maintenance contracts

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• (1) If the conditions in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) are met, regulation 10(1) does not apply to an off-premises contract where—

• (a) the contract is a service contract,

• (b) the consumer has explicitly requested the trader to supply the service for the purpose of carrying out repairs or maintenance,

• (c) the obligations of the trader and the consumer under the contract are to be performed immediately, and

• (d) the payment to be made by the consumer is not more than £170.

• (2) The first condition is that, before the consumer is bound by the contract, the trader gives or makes available to the consumer on paper or, if the consumer expressly agrees, on another durable medium—

• (a) the information referred to in paragraphs (b) to (d), (f) and (g) of Schedule 2,

• (b) an estimate of the total price, where it cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, and

• (c) where a right to cancel exists, a cancellation form as set out in part B of Schedule 3.

• (3) The second condition is that, before the consumer is bound by the contract, the trader gives or makes available to the consumer the information referred to in paragraphs (a), (l) and (o) of Schedule 2, either on paper or another durable medium or otherwise if the consumer expressly agrees.

• (4) The third condition is that the confirmation of the contract provided in accordance with regulation 12 contains the information required by regulation 10(1).

• (5) For the right to cancel where this regulation applies, see in particular—

• (a) regulation 28(1)(e) and (2) (cases where cancellation excluded: visit requested for urgent work);

• (b) regulation 36 (form of consumer's request, and consequences).

Provision of copy or confirmation of off-premises contracts

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• (1) In the case of an off-premises contract, the trader must give the consumer—

• (a) a copy of the signed contract, or

• (b) confirmation of the contract.

• (2) The confirmation must include all the information referred to in Schedule 2 unless the trader has already provided that information to the consumer on a durable medium prior to the conclusion of the off-premises contract.

• (3) The copy or confirmation must be provided on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium.

• (4) The copy or confirmation must be provided within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the contract, but in any event—

• (a) not later than the time of the delivery of any goods supplied under the contract, and

• (b) before performance begins of any service supplied under the contract.

• (5) If the contract is for the supply of digital content not on a tangible medium and the consumer has given the consent and acknowledgement referred to in regulation 37(1)(a) and (b), the copy or confirmation must include confirmation of the consent and acknowledgement.

Information to be provided before making a distance contract

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• (1) Before the consumer is bound by a distance contract, the trader—

• (a) must give or make available to the consumer the information listed in Schedule 2 in a clear and comprehensible manner, and in a way appropriate to the means of distance communication used, and

• (b) if a right to cancel exists, must give or make available to the consumer a cancellation form as set out in part B of Schedule 3.

• (2) In so far as the information is provided on a durable medium, it must be legible.

• (3) The information referred to in paragraphs (l), (m) and (n) of Schedule 2 may be provided by means of the model instructions on cancellation set out in part A of Schedule 3; and a trader who has supplied those instructions to the consumer, correctly filled in, is to be treated as having complied with paragraph (1) in respect of those paragraphs.

• (4) Where a distance contract is concluded through a means of distance communication which allows limited space or time to display the information—

• (a) the information listed in paragraphs (a), (b), (f), (g), (h), (l) and (s) of Schedule 2 must be provided on that means of communication in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), but